Bad Wolves and former frontman Tommy Vext have reached a lawsuit settlement with each other. According to Loudwire, Vext filed a lawsuit against Allen Kovac, Bad Wolves’ manager, over the summer. He claimed Kovac used racist language and tried to kick him out of the band. Following the lawsuit, Better Noise Music, the record label, filed suit against Vext for copyright infringement.
In January 2021, Bad Wolves parted ways with Tommy Vext through a statement posted on Facebook. The group wrote, “Tommy has been a big part of Bad Wolves and we are grateful for his contributions. There is not much else to report at the moment but to send love and gratitude to the fans who have supported Bad Wolves from day one. We would not be here without you.” Yet there was much speculation that his departure had to do with his controversial statements regarding the legitimacy of the Black Lives Matter movement.
A few months after his breakup with the band, Vext came forward to say that he was “financially bullied” into not releasing his new solo album that he had raised $175,000 to make via GoFundMe. Vext said, “We are still in the process of negotiating my exit from Bad Wolves LLC,” Vext said in a statement. “It is clear that the original album I made last year will either not come out or will be given to another act on the label to perform as their own. Unfortunately fighting this would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and take years to get resolved so I have been financially bullied into submission on this issue.”
In July, Vext sued Allen Kovac, the band’s manager, after claiming that he was pushed out of the band by Kovac for “not being black enough” and for supporting Trump. He claims Kovac called him the n-word multiple times and that he felt “belittled” by him. One month later, Vext himself was sued by Better Noise Music, Bad Wolves’ record label for copyright infringement. Vext announced his own tour under his new name “Tommy Vext and The B@D W8LV3S.” This isn’t the only reason the singer is being sued for, according to the lawsuit, Vext allegedly keeps sharing unreleased Bad Wolves material via his social media. The plaintiffs also claim he shares unauthorized covers on the band’s Patreon. The lawsuit further claims that Vext is in violation of his contract he signed with the label in 2017.
In September, the band released their first album without Tommy Vext, Dear Monsters. Bad Wolves said about Vext, “Tommy Vext quit Bad Wolves last January to pursue a solo career. Unfortunately, he quickly realized that nobody cares about him as a solo artist and that he can’t make or sell music on his own. He can’t write his own music so he released an edited version of our first single with his vocals on it. Desperate people do desperate things.”